Fontbonne and Gemma Shock Oliver Ames 41-34

In a stunning victory, 41-34, and by all accounts was not suppose to happen, , led by junior Jen Gemma, eliminated Oliver Ames High School in the first round of the MIAA Division 2 South girls basketball tournament. The game was played on Wednesday, February 29, at Oliver Ames High School.

The Tigers were the No. 4 seed (18-3) and were one of the favorites of the Division 2 South Tournament. The Ducks came in as the No. 13 seed (14-7) were given little hope of pushing over OA. 

Not intimidated by the No. 4 seed the Ducks pounced on the Tigers in the first period and took a commanding lead of 10-0 before Oliver Ames scored. 

At the start of the second period the Tigers were trailing by 8 points with the score in favor of the Ducks 14-6. 

The second quarter of the game would be OA’s best defensively as they held Fontbonne scoreless and pulled to within 2 points, 14-12 at the half.  

In the third period the Tigers started to move, taking the lead 19-14. Not to be denied Gemma and her mates went on a 10-point scoring attack pulling ahead of the Tigers 24-19. 

At the start of the fourth period the Ducks were up 29-23 and never looked back as they won 41-34. 

Fontbonne’s Jen Gemma was at the top of her game as she jumped, dove and dropped the ball into the net with some acrobatic and unbelievable shots. She finished the game with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Georgia Bourikas scored 14 points with help during the game from Rebecca Olivieri and Josephine Wong. 

Commenting on the team’s performance Head Coach Clare Murphy said, “I can’t say enough about Jen she has the heart of a warrior. There was no way she was going to go home tonight a loser. She is just big time and a hard working kid. She is a great shooter and only a junior. She was a little nervous before the game. This is still a young team. We look forward to the rest of the tournament.”

Fontbonne will now face O’Bryant, the No. 5 seed (16-2), on Friday night at Madison Park High School. Start time is 7 p.m.

(Note: Gemma, Olivieri and Wong are all Milton residents.)